Sticks and Stones and Devilish Neighbors

This week I finished reading the book about witches, The Devil of Great Island. Though it was short, only 207 pages, it was pretty slow going, probably due to the fact that the book seems to be truly scholarly, which means that it's well documented but not particularly compelling as a story.  But I did learn some interesting things.

One of the things I learned is that early colonial New England was a very complex and contentious place--lots of arguing and fighting among the inhabitants, whether English, French, or Indian. For the most part, the fighting seemed to be between religious factions, yet the causes stemmed more from property disputes and politics than religious practices or freedoms.  One interesting fact is that the squabbling among colonists got so bad at one point that the English government had to step in and tell the Massachusetts Bay folks that they had to be more tolerant of other religions!

But the Crown's meddling in colonial affairs did little to improve matters. In fact, their untidy method of granting land parcels was what caused some of the problems in the first place. Other problems arose from the diverse group of colonists, some of whom had widely divergent ideas about how to establish a village or a colony. Their conflicts with the natives who were displaced by their increasingly large settlements also factored into the tense atmosphere.

One result of all this fighting, the author Emerson Baker argues, was an increase in accusations of witchcraft.  According to the author, accusing neighbors of witchcraft was a way to get them out of the way and then grab their land or property.  But there was another side to the witchcraft controversy: the people who were accused probably were guilty of harming people, Baker believes, just not as witches.  The episodes of stone throwing, for instance, were probably secret attacks by very mortal neighbors who were unhappy with the victims' behavior and saw no other way of persuading them to stop.  Unfortunately, with one particularly exasperating fellow, George Walton, even repeated stonings failed to curb his bad behavior. His next door neighbor, Thomas Walford, was one of his victims. Since Mr. Walford was also my ninth great grandfather, I found the book's chapter on the Walfords very interesting, as you can imagine.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the period it covers, the late 17th century in New England, but be aware that it is a history book, not a narrative. 

For my next book, I'm going to stick with history and plunge into a book on the Underground Railroad that I've been meaning to read, Bound for Canaan.  I'll let you know how that goes next time!

History of Hope and Struggle

Well, I finally finished In Hope of Liberty, and I must say it's one of the best books of African American history I've read. It was filled with all kinds of information about what life was life for the many people of African descent who lived in the northern states from the beginning of European colonization up to the Civil War.  I learned so much I can't even describe most of it, but the major thing I learned was that the experience of enslaved people, both freed and not freed, was very complex and diverse across the northern colonies, territories, and states.

In addition to that, I was distressed by how difficult it was for blacks even in the north, how they struggled to gain full liberties and rights as citizens of the United States, and how they were resisted by many, many people and institutions over the centuries. I also learned that many white people helped them and were in fact quite vocal about their views on the disgrace that was slavery. There were also many brave African Americans who risked their livelihoods, their homes and even their lives to try to be fully free.

I highly recommend this book to all people who think they know something about African American history, or even American history.  The story of slavery in this country is long and complex, and cannot be told by simply stating that the north was where slaves went to be free.

The next book I read on this topic, I think, will be the one I have about the underground railroad.  I think I'm ready to truly understand that phenomenon after reading In Hope of Liberty.

Next week I start a novel by Cristina Garcia, The Lady Matador's Hotel.

In Hope of Understanding

As it turns out, I didn't stick with The Women even one day longer. I started reading In Hope of Liberty, by James Oliver and Lois E. Horton, and I'm about 1/3 of the way through.  It's a scholarly history book, filled with many facts and details about African American life in the English colonies of the northern U.S., from the first settlements up to the Civil War. 

The story is told in chronological order, so I'm to the early 1800s now in the account. What I've learned so far is both surprising and not surprising.  What's surprising is how much information there is about how these folks fared in the northern colonies, and how well some of them were able to do, even as slaves.  What is not surprising is that they struggled to maintain the freedoms they gained and that many whites actively worked against their efforts.  Moreover, though slavery was outlawed in most of the northern states before the Civil War, the emancipation process was gradual in many of them, taking years, with some slaves not freed until the Emancipation Proclamation.

Nevertheless, the difference in the experiences of enslaved people living in the north versus the south is remarkable.  The smaller number of slaves in northern colonies helped to make whites less paranoid, it seems, and therefore more tolerant of blacks' freedoms.  So some slaves were allowed to become literate, to have time off, to travel to some extent, to make money of their own by hiring themselves out or selling their goods, to learn technical skills, to own property, and to buy their freedom. 

Some slaves were thought of as similar to indentured servants, and were freed after a certain number of years of service.  Some were freed in their masters' will, or freed by those who came to believe slavery was wrong.  The shipbuilding and fishing industries, an important part of the northern coastal economy, employed many blacks, both free and enslaved. They were valued workers and often treated as such by the ships' captains and other sailors, especially out at sea where different social customs could prevail.

Despite all that, though, those who were enslaved still suffered hardships, not the least of which was knowing they were not free.  But free blacks helped their enslaved brethren. There were fairly large populations of free blacks living in cities and towns during the 18th century, where some formed abolitionist societies.  Many blacks, both free and enslaved, along with sympathetic white citizens, wrote articles and petitioned their governors, constantly pressuring for changes to the law, for the abolition of slavery.  And when it was clear that a break with England was coming, blacks (along with non-blacks) made it known that a truly free and democratic society could not also be a slave-holding society.

In Hope of Liberty also talks about the many blacks, slave and free, who served in the wars fought, including the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Many volunteered, hoping to be freed.  Others were sent in place of their masters who paid for the privilege of staying out of harm's way.  Some slaves who fought well in the war were freed as a reward.  Others were not, having to return to their former status once the war was over.  Some chose to fight for Great Britain when the crown offered them freedom in exchange for their service.

There was a very interesting section on Crispus Attucks, one of the first people killed in the Revolutionary War.  It's actually a much more complex story than I've been led to believe in the little history I've heard about him.  He was a runaway slave, and apparently very active politically even before he took part in what became known as the Boston Massacre. Here is a brief account of his role in that incident: Attucks. The Hortons tell a detailed story about him and many other important African-Americans of the colonial period.

Also interesting was the authors' account of African-Americans' complex relationships with Native Americans. The Hortons portray them as mostly friendly and mutually supportive.

In Hope of Liberty is very well written, and as a result of reading it, I'm getting a much fuller picture of what life what like for northern blacks in the early years of our nation's history.  I'm looking forward to learning more in the next couple of weeks.

Stay tuned!